Altadena Sheriff Lt. Joseph Dempsey has sent the following message around:
We are still experiencing residential burglaries, vehicle burglaries, and thefts from unlocked vehicles in the Altadena area. The Sheriff’s Department believes strongly in community partnerships to prevent and solve crimes. We want to remind everyone to be vigilant in protecting our homes, vehicles and families.
Last night, Captain McLean was working patrol with another deputy, when they received a burglary alarm call on the east side of Altadena. They responded immediately to the home and discovered the door wide open with keys in the lock. They checked the house for any possible suspects and found a safe open in one of the rooms. As they were checking the house further, they noticed that there were instructions on how to disable the alarm posted next to the keypad. Fortunately no burglary had occurred, the residents merely left the door open when they left.
While I would like to say this is an anomaly, unfortunately it is not. Too many of our residents are not putting into the practice the safety tips we have been preaching. Often times our deputies find cars unlocked, valuable property left in plain view on the front seat of cars, houses left open, burglary alarms not set, etc. Even though these are busy times, we need to be all the more vigilant in protecting our homes and families.
Unfortunately, in several of the recent residential burglary investigations, our deputies have talked to numerous citizens that saw the suspects approach the victims’ homes, but dismissed the behavior and did not report it to the police.
Please call the Altadena Sheriff’s Station immediately at 626-798-1131 if you see something in your neighborhood that looks potentially suspicious.
Check out this video on how to recognize a possible burglary in progress:
Our Neighborhood Watch program has worked very successfully in many of our neighborhoods and has helped to put many criminals behind bars. If your neighborhood doesn’t have a Neighborhood Watch, or you would just like information on how to join the one that already exists, please call our Community Relations team at 626-798-1131.
